""Relevance and Necessity of the Electoral College"" An Investigation of the Founder's Intent in the Creation of the Electoral College and its Current Significance

uReleva11ce a11d Necessity of the Electoral College"
An Investigation of the Founder's Intent in the Creation of the Electoral College
and its Current Significance
An Honors Thesis
Jordan McCarty
Submitted to the Texas A&M University-Commerce Honors Committee in partial
fu lfillment of the Program of llonors tudy leading to the degree of Bachelor of c1ence
in Political Science & History
Directed by
Dr. Eric Gruver
Assistant Professor
History
December 5, 20 II
Approved:
JA_dvisor
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Committee Member
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Dean, College of Humanities, ocial Sciences and Arts
"Relevance and Necessity of tile Electoral College"
An Investigation of the Founder's Intent in the
Creation of the Electoral College and its Current Significance
Jordan Renee McCarty
Advisor: Dr. Eric Gruver
December 1, 2011
List of Tables
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Literature Review
Table of Contents
Chapter 3: Current Argument of the Electoral College
Chapter 4: Method of Study
Chapter 5: Data Analysis
Chapter 6: Analysis of Open-Ended Questions
Chapter 7: Summary and Findings
References
3
4
6
15
17
19
23
28
34
2
List ofTables
Table 1: Number of Correctly Answered Questions: Gender
Table 2: 3 Constant Questions: Gender
Table 3: Classes Previously Taken
Table 4: Number of Correctly Answered Questions: Non-Whites
Table 5: Non-White Mother and Father Educational Levels
Table 6: Would you Vote for Obama or Republican candidate in the 2012 Presidential election?
3
Introduction
In 1787, fifty-five men met to construct a document that would re-organize the young and
dysfunctional Unjted States of America. The Constitutional Convention was primarily Jed by
key personalities who came prepared to create a system that would unite 13 rusjointed en6ties.
James Madison, among his many ideas to shape a federal government, proposed the creation of
an Electoral College that would formally elect the president and vice-president. After much
deliberation, the delegates decided that the Electoral College would be included in the final draft
ofthe Constitution. The framers of the Constitution decided that the Electoral College would
consist of electors, equal to the representation of the House of Representatives and the Senate,
and a candidate would have to receive a simple majority of the total votes cast by the electors in
order to claim victory. This concept was implemented by the founders because they believed
electors would be better informed than the average American voter because each state's
legislature would select the electors for their respective state. Given the importance of the
Electoral College and the founders' rationale and objectives for creating it, trus study
investigated whether or not the rationale exists today- that is, that the Electoral College is
necessary due to the American voter's lack of understanding of government and political issues. 1
The founders created the Electoral College to provide an alternative choice to popular
opinion in consideration of the final election. No members of Congress were allowed to serve as
electors from their state, prorubiting a conflict of interest within the election process as the
framers wished to create a comprorruse between a purely popular result and an election decided
by the Electoral College. To avoid favoritism each elector submitted two votes, one for someone
outside of their home state and the other for whomever they wanted. George Mason of Virginia
supported the idea of an Electoral College because he claimed that "the people were least
1 William C. Kimberling, "The Electoral College," Essays in Elections, no. I ( 1992): 2.; Ibid.
4
qualified to make a good selection." There was widespread distrust of popular elections because
it was understood that many of those who participated in the elections did not vote according to
rationale, but rather emotion. The framers of the Constitution were scared of the effects that a
true democracy would bring, including who the popular vote might bring into power. The
discontent towards a popular vote stemmed from the belief that, "unusual circumstances in an
election might make them (the general public) over-excited and unreasoning in their choice."2
Dewey's comment proposing that the general public be "over-excited" refers to their inability to
make a decision despite bias and emotion. 3
Madison, often noted as the father of the Constitution, attended the Constitutional
Convention eager to consider the establishment of a process that would ensure the country was
led by a respectable and qualified leader. His principal concern was to create "such a process of
elections as will most certainly extract from the mass of the Society the purest and noblest
characters which it contains.'.4 Madison's Electoral College would consist of chosen electors,
and would bring the most highly qualified men into office to serve and lead the country; he
projected that since the electors only met once, individually cast their ballots, and had little to no
interaction, corruption would be mitigated if not prevented. The Electoral College would
prevent those who were not as qualified as electors from casting a vote solely based on emotion
to make the final decision for the president, and would allow candidates from smaller states a
2 Donald 0 . Dewey, " Madison's Views on Electoral Reform," The Western Political Quarterly 15, no. I (March
1962).
3 Ibid.; Ibid.; Richard D. Brown, ed. Major Problems in the Era of the American Revolution, 1760-1791 :r' Edition,
(Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000), 425.
4 The Papers of James Madison Digital Edition, J. C. A. Stagg, editor. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press,
Rotunda, 20 I 0. Original source: Congressional Series, Volume I 0 (27 May 1787-3 March 1788).; Jeffrey Leigh
Sedgwick. "James Madison and the Problem of Executive Character," Polity 2 1, no. I (Autumn 1988).; Sedgwick,
"James Madison," 20; Dewey, " Madison's Views," 142-143.
5
better chance at getting elected. Confident, Madison believed that there were "advantages in the
intervention of Electors, and inconveniences in a direct vote by the people."5
Such advantages included a well known electoral base that allowed for the people to
choose their representatives wisely, an opportunity for the electors to use their superior judgment
when necessary, and a rational system of voting. George Mason added that, "it would be as
unnatural to refer the choice of a proper character for Chief Magistrate to the people, as it would
to refer a trial of colours to a blind man.'.6 Mason's metaphor creates a comparison between the
ability of the American people to choose a president and a blind man's ability to see color.
Not all Convention attendees agreed with Madison and his supporters. Revolutionary
fire-brands John Hancock and Samuel Adams opposed the idea of a decreased democracy and
became members of the group known as the Anti-Federalists who fought for the direct election
of the president on behalf of the people he would lead. Geographical divisions can be to blame
for those in opposition to the Electoral College, because it balanced the interests of the large,
highly populated states with those of the less populated, smaller states. The Electoral College
was not the sole cause of contention between the Anti-Federalists and the Federalists who
supported a strong and powerful national government, but it was an issue that endured
substantial revision and changes before inclusion in the Constitution. 7
Literature Review
Debates regarding the existence and/or structure of the Electoral College have occurred
since its inception. According to former Tennessee congressman, Estes Kefauver, almost one-
5 Dewey, "Madison's Views," 141.
6 Sedgwick, "James Madison," 20.
7 Ibid.; Dewey, "Madison's Views," 144.
6
tenth of the constitutional amendments ever filed in Congress up to 1962 related to Electoral
College reform. Economist and Professor Viney Fon, in " Electoral College Alternatives and
U.S. Presidential Elections," proposed that adjustments within the allocation of the Electoral
College votes would be an efficient way of distributing the will of the people through the
legitimacy of the votes the electors have. She implied moving away from the winner-take-all
system currently practiced in every state except Maine and Nebraska, and adopting an allocation
method of voting. The winner-take-all-system assigns all electoral votes from a state to the
candidate who obtained the most popular votes. Fon emphasized that this allocation style would
achieve the original desire of the founders for the Electoral College to represent the interest of
the individual states rather than just the interest of the individuals. 8
Two-time elector Lawrence D. Longley explained that the structure of the Electoral
College provides advantages and disadvantages to different groups within different states. After
deciphering data regarding average voting power, Longley argued that "urban citizens-voters
have above average voting power in the electoral college, while rural citizen-voters, on the other
hand, are relatively disadvantaged by the present electoral college."9 Longley's argument brings
attention to the disproportionate affiliation the different states have within the electoral system
because of their number of electoral representatives. As part of the electoral system, larger states
have more electoral votes because of their larger populations and larger representation in
Congress. James D. Dana Jr., coauthor of"The Biases of the Electoral College in the 1990' s,"
agreed with Longley's judgment that geographical and demographic considerations present some
states with advantages and disadvantages within their electoral representation. Geographical
8 Estes Kefauver, "The Electoral College: Old Reforms Take on a New Look," Law and Contemporary Problems
27, no. 2 (Spring 1962).; Viney Fon, "Electoral College Alternatives and US Presidential Elections," Supreme
Court Economic Review 12, no. I (2004).; Fon, " Electoral College Alternatives," 42.
9 Longley, "Biases of the Electoral College," 140.
7
advantages include states whose location incorporates them into a group that receive a lot of
attention because of their needs and importance they contain. Demographic advantages include
those states that have a majority of both rural or urban populations and their significance within
their representation. Carleton W. Sterling, specialist in voter participation and Assistant
Professor at the University ofNotre Dame, contended that because of the liberal tendencies of
the current structure of the Electoral College big cities and minority voters have a heavier
weighted voter influence within larger states. The representations of larger states are forced to
listen and act according to their constituents more predominately who are comparably more
liberal in political alignment. In Presidential Elections, Nelson Polsby and Aaron Wildavsky's
argued:
"The outright abolition of the Electoral College, and the substitution of the direct election
of the president, would certainly reduce the importance of the large states. The emphasis
would not be on which candidate was going to win the state, already a foregone
conclusion, but by how many votes he was going to win. The small states do not gain,
however, because even when they are one-party, they are not large enough to generate
substantial voting margins. Direct election thus changes the advantage from the biggest
and the smallest two-party states to the medium-sized one-party states, and these, in the
United States, happen most commonly to be located in the South."10
These experts all agreed that resentment towards the Electoral College is justifiable due to the
fallibility projected to voters within the structure of the college itself. 11
Robert G. Dixon Jr., Law Professor at Washington University, claimed that the Electoral
College is a system used to convert the will of the people-their vote- into electoral votes.12
This perception is expressed throughout literature regarding the critique of the Electoral College,
10 Eric R.A.N Smith and Peverill Squire, "Direct Election of the President and the Power of the States," The
Western Political Quarterly 40, no. I (March 1987).
11 Lawrence D Longley and James D. Dana Jr., "The Biases of the Electoral College in the 1990's," Polity 25, no. I
(Autumn, 1992).; Carleton W Sterling, "The Electoral College Biases Revealed: The Conventional Wisdom and
Game Theory Models Notwithstanding," The Western Political Quarterly 31, no. 2 (June 1978).; Carleton W
Sterling, "The Electoral College Biases Revealed: The Conventional Wisdom and Game Theory Models
Notwithstanding," The Western Political Quarterly 31 , no. 2 (June 1978).;
12 Robert G. Dixon Jr., "Electoral College Procedure," The Western Political Quarterly 3, no. 2 (June 1950).; Fon,
" Electoral College Alternatives," 42.
8
all the while other critics, such as Fon, argued that under any electoral allocation system the
candidate that wins the popular vote can lose the election. Critics argue both sides of the system,
contending that the system is illegitimate because of the opportunity for either condition to
occur. Brian J. Gaines, in "Popular Myths about Popular Vote-Electoral College Splits,"
summed up his view in a clever analogy: "Arguing that a candidate 'deserves' the presidency
because he won a popular vote plurality is akin to arguing that a team 'really won' a football
game in which it out-gained its opponents in total yards but somehow failed to score."13 He
further opined that if the Electoral College remains in existence then the winner of the popular
vote is merely just a "curiosity."14 While historians have debated the validity and fairness of the
Electoral College, others have contested their arguments with its ability to preserve the original
intention of the founders.
Historian Martin Diamond and former United States Senator Birch Bayh, co-authors of
"The Electoral College and the Idea of Federal Democracy," suggested that the structure of the
Electoral College provides legitimacy within a true national campaign, preserves the traditional
two-party system, and is responsive to change throughout its existence. The argument here is
that the Electoral College is able to adapt to changes made throughout its duration according to
its founding principles and its ability to maintain its primary function despite changes. Bayh and
Diamond proposed that the Electoral College did these things because of the internal stability it
provides within the chaos that goes on within presidential campaigns. These ideas serve to
support the Electoral College despite arguments made against the institution, and advocate for its
continued use within the presidential selection. Historian John J. Turner Jr. and Professor
Sterling both agreed that the Electoral College is better than a direct election of the president by
13 Brian J Gaines, " Popular Myths about Popular Vote-Electoral College Splits," PS: Political Science and Politics
34, no. I (March 200 I).
14 Gaines, "Popular Myths," 75.
9
the popular vote because they fear that direct election would provoke fragmentation within the
political arena and disrupt the balance and stability that exists within the structure of the
institution. 15 Turner stated, "This system is an integral part of the delicate mechanism which
makes it possible for our vast, complex society to govern itself with some stability."16
Arthur Schlesinger Jr., in "The Tribulations of an Old Democracy," argued that
abolishing the Electoral College would "foster the birth of a host of smaJI parties that would
accumulate Electors around the United States and then act as power brokers in the Electoral
College."17 ln other words, Schlesinger thought it wise to keep the structure of the Electoral
College in place to avoid destruction of the modem two-party system. It is important to note that
the success of the two party system in the United States is dependent on the rich historical
tradition of the American people and because of the winner-take-aJI system. Due to the majority
of the states using such a system, it is nearly impossible for a minority party to gather enough
votes to overcome a majority party within the United States Electoral System. Shlomo Slonim,
Chair of the Department of American Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in "The
Electoral College at Philadelphia: The Evolution of an Ad Hoc Congress for the Selection of a
President," reminded readers that the Electoral College's existence is a "reflection of the
Founding Fathers' deep distrust of democracy." 18 As previously stated, this deep distrust stems
from their inability to cast a rational vote and to acquire as much knowledge and wisdom of the
electoral system as the more knowledgeable electors. Slonim further suggested that "in the eyes
15 Martin Diamond and Birch Bayh,"The Electoral College and the Idea of Federal Democracy," Pub/ius 8, no. I
(Winter 1978).; Carleton W. Sterling, " Review: The Strange Case of the Electoral College," The Review of Politics
39, no. I (January 1977). See Judith Best, "The Case against Direct Election of the President: A Defense of the
Electoral College," The Review of Politics 39, no. I (January, 1977), pp. 120-122.;
16 John J. Jr. Turner, "One Vote for the Electoral College," The History Teacher 40, no. 3 (May 2007).
17 Amaldo Testi, "The Tribulations of an Old Democracy," The Journal of American History 88, no. 2 (September
200 1).
18 Shlomo Slonim, "The Electoral College at Philadelphia: The Evolution of an Ad Hoc Congress for the Selection
of a President," The Journal of American History 13, no. I (June 1986).
10
of its admirers, the Electoral College represented a brilliant scheme for successfully blending
national and federal elements in the selection of the nation's ChiefMagistrate." 19 Jeffrey Leigh
Sedgwick, Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, stated
that the Electoral College provided, "a solution to both the problem of the republican executive
and the problem of federalism."20 All of these experts agreed that regardless of the disputes
about the details of the Electoral College process, it would be disastrous to abolish it because of
the protections and securities it provides.
Political scientists, Michael X. Delli Carpini and Scott Keeter mentioned in their studies
of public awareness and knowledge of politics that "a citizen's level offactual knowledge can be
gauged with a short series of survey questions," which is what many investigators of American
political knowledge have done? 1 Many researchers record their data and interpret the
information in order to further the knowledge of public political awareness. Through Delli
Carpini and Keeter's investigation they found that "gender, age, and strength of partisanship did
show some substantively significant variation across the different sub domains."22 Delli Carpini
and Keeter advanced their investigation and used their data to apply meaning to the lack of
knowledge of the American people. Within their findings they found it disturbing that a high
percentage of participants were extremely unknowledgeable and unaware of what they
considered basic political common sense. Although Delli Carpini and Keeter emphasize later in
their research that education played a key role in the rise of awareness and knowledge of the
American public, there is still a staggering level of lack of political knowledge and awareness
plaguing the American public. Political scientists Jennifer Jerit, Jason Barabas, and Toby
19 Slonim, "The Electoral College at Philadelphia," 58.
20 Sedgwick, "James Madison," 20.
21 Michael X. Delli Carpini and Scott Keeter, " Measuring Political Knowledge: Putting First Things First,"
American Journal of Political Science 37, no. 4 (Nov 1993).
22 Delli Carpini, " Measuring Political Knowledge," 1185.
1 1
Boisen, in "Citizens, Knowledge, and the Information Environment," concluded that "those who
have attained a higher level of formal education show greater gains than those with fewer years
of formal schooling ... "23 This conclusion is significant in regards to the public's level of
knowledge of politics because it reinforces the idea that "socioeconomic factors, such as being
rich or educated, are positively associated with political knowledge."24
A notable source of rhetoric that focuses on the Electoral College is George C. Edwards,
III's Why the Electoral College is Bad for America, and due to its noteworthy attributions many
challenge his ideas and publish reviews of his work. Paul Schumaker, Professor of Political
Science at the University of Kansas, reviewed Edwards' book and noted that Edwards points out
that the complexities some argue make the Electoral College so ingenious, are the same
complexities that allow for its failures. Edwards also points out problems with the Electoral
College in, "The Faulty Premises of the Electoral College," in which he argued that the Electoral
College violates political equality because it allows for certain votes to be more important than
others. Edwards argues that direct election would provide equality in voting power and would
substantially reduce room for third-party candidates. 25
There are many individuals that subject the Electoral College to scrutiny based on the
argument regarding "battleground and blackout states." This argument regarding the Electoral
College is widely known and accepted by many who research and study the significance and
relevance of the Electoral College as a system. James G. Gimpel, Karen M. Kaufmann, and
Shanna Pearson-Merkowitz, all Political Science Professors at the University of Maryland,
23 Jennifer Jerit, Jason Barabas, and Toby Boisen, "Citizens, Knowledge, and the Information Environment,"
American Journal of Political Science 50, no. 2 (April 2006).
24 Jerit, "Citizens," 266.
2s Paul Schumaker, " Review: Untitled," Reviewed work: Why the Electoral College is Bad for America by George
C. Edwards III, Perspectives on Politics 3, no. 2 (June 2005). ; George C. Edwards Ill, "The Faulty Premises of the
Electoral College," in The Presidency and the Political System, edited by Michael Nelson, 9th Edition. CQ Press,
Washington D.C., 20 I 0.
12
suggested that battleground states are pivotal to campaigns because they focus and use their
energies according to the importance of those states' electoral votes. Thus, citizens of
battleground states gain more exposure to the information surrounding a presidential election.
Many political scientists use a similar idea to propose that this is the reason why many people
living in blackout or non-battleground states lack initiative to mobilize their own support and
vote. Those proposing this idea use Gimpel, Kaufmann, and Pearson-Merkowitz's argument to
defend the Electoral College because of many citizens' lack of exposure and information
regarding presidential candidates?6
As stated in Gimpel, Kaufmann, and Pearson-Merkowitz's article, "If campaigns have the
power to inform and mobilize the electorate, then interest and turnout levels in the battleground
states should be quite different from that in the blackout states."27 That being said, there is a lot
of argument over whether the Electoral College is influential in the voting process, as
constituents take the notion that their vote does not count because the Electoral College will just
pick the candidate anyway. The use of the Electoral College should stimulate involvement and
awareness because the candidates fighting for the battleground states will expose their
constituents to a flood of information and are dependent on them to mobilize and vote in order to
gain their needed number of Electoral College votes. Due to the majority of states' usage of the
winner-take-all system, candidates depend on battleground state voters to take action and go to
the polls. Interestingly, Gimpel, Kaufmann, and Pearson-Merkowitz added that not only do
presidential campaigns pay particular attention and focus to the states with the largest voting
populations, they also found, "in recent years that large states are the focus of additional
26 James G. Gimpel, Karen M. Kaufmann, and Shanna Pearson-Merkowitz, "Battleground States versus Blackout
States: The Behavioral Implications of Modern Presidential Campaigns." The Journal of Politics 69, no. 3 (August
2007).
27 Gimpel, " Battleground," 788.
13
attention only if they meet the obvious additional condition that they are electorally
competitive. "28
With that in mind, it is evident that the "battleground versus blackout states" argument is
relevant regarding the Electoral College's influence. Large states are important for candidates to
access because they will pull in the most electoral votes, but if a state is known as a blackout
state, there will be minimal focus and attention paid to that state by both candidates. Although
blackout states run the risk and face problems of not getting much exposure to the candidates
because of their predetermined reputation, the battleground states reap the benefits of the
Electoral College system and, as Gimpel, Kaufmann, and Pearson-Merkowitz noted, "the
interaction of battleground status and low income, notably enhances the engagement of the have-nots,"
increasing voter turnout across a broader spectrum?9 Battleground states benefit from the
Electoral College because of the high level of activity that occurs within the state as part of the
candidate's fight to receive all the electoral votes.
As part of the creation of the Electoral College it is important to highlight the founder's
intent and how those intentions affect the relevance and necessity of the Electoral College today.
It cannot be explained through a simple list what it was and how it was that the founders created
the mechanism of the Electoral College but it can and should be noted what they found important
in order to create a system that they thought necessary at the time of the Constitutional
Convention.
An important aspect that signifies why the founders thought the Electoral College was
necessary was because of the lack of communication and inability to inform all the American
people. The founders were concerned about creating a system that solely relied on the
28 Ibid, 794.
29 Ibid, 792.
14
knowledge of the American people because they lived in a time when communication was not
instant. Their concern stemmed from the inability to keep every voter informed and up to date
on the important issues of the country as a whole because many were only aware of the problems
within their localized geographic area
The Harvard Law Review investigated the intent of the founders in the creation ofthe
Electoral College and found an argument against the use of the Electoral College because as a
nation we "no longer have a primitive communications infrastructure, an uninformed electorate,
or transportation problems that impede candidates from traveling the country."30 The nation has
undergone a gradual developmental change in its political philosophy that does not find the
Electoral College necessary anymore.
Current Argument of the Electoral College
Today, California is a prime example of how direct democracy can be a threat to the
existing institutions of government and a roadblock to efficient government. Andreas Kluth,
economist and journalist, investigated the current situation surrounding California's direct
democracy initiatives and found that despite its past record, California is suffering and steadily
falling into a pitfall of decline. As reported in The Economist, Switzerland adopted the
American Constitution almost verbatim and added their revisions, including the use of a strong
direct democracy. This allowed the Swiss to use their version of direct democracy ''to serve its
cultural and political purpose."31 California then adopted the Swiss model for themselves and
30 Harvard Law Review, "Rethinking the Electoral College Debate: The Framers, Federalism, and One Person, One
Vote," Harvard Law Review 114, no. 8 (June 2001 ).
31 Andreas Kluth, "Special Report: Democracy in America, The People's Will." The Economist 399, no. 8730 (April
2011).
15
tinkered even more with the original American model and created an extreme democracy that has
lead them down a path of economic destruction throughout the twentieth century.
James Madison once said, "a popular government without popular information or the
means of acquiring it is but a prologue to Farce or Tragedy or perhaps both. "32 This quote alone
identifies many of the problems Californians face every day as they present referendums,
initiatives, and propositions to their people and allow them to impulsively vote without adequate
information to form a credible answer. Several political scientists have created polls to test the
knowledge and awareness of California's population as they head to the ballot boxes and have
found some very interesting information. When asked about their confidence in regards to their
level of awareness and knowledge, the majority of respondents answered that they either know
"some" or "a lot of' information concerning state and local expenditures.33 "But when presented
with a list of the state's four biggest spending categories, only 22% oflikely voters correctly
named public schools at the largest," and, ''their grasp of state revenues was no better."34 This
information shows that many voters and active civic participants, who indeed claimed to know a
fair amount of information regarding their state and local government, knew very little and were
often incorrect about their information.
Kimberly Nalder, Professor at California State University in Sacramento, found that
those who are perceived to know more and be more informed were actually the least
knowledgeable and least informed. In her study, she asked California's population about the
notorious Proposition 13 and in her findings the best educated answered incorrectly by a larger
percentage than did those who had not even acquired a high school diploma. Additionally,
32 The Papers of James Madison Digital Edition, J. C. A. Stagg, editor. Charlottesville: University of Virg inia Press,
Rotunda, 20 I 0. Original source: Congressional Series, Volume I 0 (27 May 1787-3 March 1788).
33 Ibid.
34 Ibid.
16
Nalder found that wealthier respondents, who are known for being more knowledgeable and
active, knew less than the lower-income category. Even more shocking, fewer home-owners
whom were directly affected by Proposition 13 knew less about the proposal than renters. 35
Nalder's findings contribute to the rhetoric regarding voter knowledge and awareness and its
relation to the significance of direct democracy.
Nalder also gathered that many voters, " relied on advertisements, the internet, media
coverage and the like," for their source of information that helped them make their decision to
vote.36 This information reinforces the idea that many voters do not actively seek information
regarding the race they are voting in and the little information they do retain is from emotional
ads that are usually used as negative exposure to their opponent, rather than the person
themselves explaining their own side. Furthermore, Nalder found that it is not uncommon for
those who vote " yes" on a referendum to realize that they wanted to vote "no", but due to the
complex language and inability of the layman to understand intricate political and economic
jargon, they vote mistakenly.37 Nalder gathered all her findings and concluded that, "If those
most likely to think they have a grasp on political information are in fact wrong," then perhaps
we should "think twice about the wisdom of direct democracy."38
Method of Study
After approval from the IRB the researcher investigated whether or not undergraduate
students at a regional state university remain uninformed regarding the political system and
35 Ibid, 14.
36 Ibid.; Ibid.
37 Ibid.; Ibid.
38 Ibid, 15.
17
historical events as the framers and advocates of the Electoral College claimed ordinary citizens
to be. The study used the acquired data along with Madison's opinions, Thomas Jefferson's
arguments and ideologies, historians' perceptions, and popular discontent to further the
investigation.
The survey was administered to students at Texas A&M University-Commerce who were
actively pursuing their undergraduate degree, and the survey was available online for a period of
two months. Participants were asked to provide information regarding their age, gender, race,
mother's level of education, and father's level of education, as well as their opinions regarding
their potential vote in 2012. Before they began the survey, participants indicated what relevant
University Studies courses they had completed specifically United States History 1301 and 1302,
as well as Political Science 2301 and 2302. Upon entering the formal survey, each participant
answered twelve questions assigned at random and adapted from the United States Citizenship
test, which is available as a public record at www.uscis.gov. The test is used by the federal
government to measure immigrants' knowledge and awareness of U.S. History and Government
in order to consider naturalized citizenship. Regardless of random survey assignment, every
respondent answered the same three questions that remained constant and appeared as the first
three questions of the survey, providing that one-fourth of all questions were answered by all
participants. Throughout the data collection process anonymity of participants was maintained
and only information included in the demographic question section was used as identifiers.
Following data collection the results of the sample were analyzed to determine the
overall knowledge of the survey's participants, using a score of75% or higher as a passing score
which is higher than the standard (60%) set by the federal guidelines.
18
Data Analysis
This study included 91 participants who self-reported that they were undergraduate
students enrolled at Texas A&M University-Commerce. Overall data for this study indicated
that 71 (78.0%) subjects were female and 20 (22%) were male. Of the 91 respondents, 74
(81.3%) were White, 6 (6.6%) were African American, 2 (2.2%) were Asian, and 9 (9.9%) were
Hispanic.
The mean number of questions answered correctly was 9.19 of 12 total questions,
resulting in an average score of 76.5%. The lowest score was 4 correct answers out of 12
questions (33.3%), and six participants earned a perfect score (1 00%). The mean number of
correctly answered questions was higher for male participants (9.80) than female participants
(9.01).
Of the 71 female subjects, 27 (38%) failed to answer 9 or more of the 12 total questions
correctly. Of the 20 male respondents, 4 (20%) failed to answer 9 or more of the 12 total
questions correctly. Of the 71 female subjects, the average number of correctly answered
questions was 9.01 , with a standard deviation of 1.599. Of the 20 male subjects, the average
number of correctly answered questions was 9 .80, with a standard deviation of 1.361 . The data
representing the correlation between male and female subjects, and the number of correctly
answered questions is represented by a statistically significant positive correlation of .208, p <
.048 (Table 1). At-test was run indicating the statistical significance between gender and mean
number of correctly answered questions.
19
Table 1
Number of Correctly Answered Questions: Gender
Group
Everyone
Female
Male
Participants
91
71
20
Mean
9.19
9.01
9.80
Standard Deviation
1.577
1.599
1.361
The survey included 3 questions that appeared as the flrst three questions on every survey
and the mean of participants' correct answers for these three questions was just under 2 (1.85).
Cases of both I 00% and 0% occurred and a standard deviation of .855 (Table 2).
Table 2
3 Constant Questions: Gender
Participants
Female
Male
Mean # of Correct Questions
1.8
2.0
Standard Deviation
.856
.858
The participants reported varied levels of completed education by their mothers.
Fourteen (15.4%) reported their mother's educational level equivalent to a Master's Degree or
higher, 22 (24.1 %) mothers completed a Bachelor's Degree, 12 (13.2%) mothers completed an
Associate's Degree, 19 (20.9%) mothers completed some college, 17 (18.7%) mothers
completed high school, and 7 (7.7%) mothers did not graduate from high school. Over one-third
ofthe subjects had mothers who completed a Bachelor's Degree or higher. Of the 91 total
20
subjects, 60.5% of them had mothers who did not complete college and acquire a minimum of a
Bachelor's Degree.
The 91 participants also reported varied levels of completed education by their fathers.
Twenty-one ofthe 91 total subjects (23.1%) reported their father's educational level equivalent
to a Master's Degree or higher, 18 fathers (19.8%) completed a Bachelor's Degree, 8 fathers
(8.8%) completed an Associate's Degree, 18 fathers (19.8%) completed some college, 20 fathers
(22%) completed high school, and 6 fathers (6.6%) did not graduate from high school. Just
under half(42.9%) ofthe subjects had fathers who completed a Bachelor's Degree or higher. Of
the 91 total subjects, 57.2% of them had fathers who did not complete college and acquired a
minimum of a Bachelor's Degree.
The respondents had completed a variation of History 1301, History 1302, Political
Science 2301, and Political Science 2302. More students participated in history classes than
political science classes. The least amount of students participated in Political Science 2302 and
History 1301 received the most participation (Table 3).
Table 3
Classes Previously Taken
Classes Previously Taken
History 1301
History 1302
Political Science 230 l
Political Science 2302
Percentage of subjects
63.7%
56.0%
47.3%
28.6%
21
Of the I7 total subjects that were Non-White, the average number of correctly answered
questions was 8.88 of I2 totaJ questions, a score of 74% with a standard deviation of 1.219. The
I7 Non-Whites averaged 1.82 correctly answered of a total of 3 constant questions, with a
standard deviation of .728. Of the I7 Non-White subjects, 0 scored less than 58.3%, with II
(64.7%) scoring 75% or higher. There were none of the I7 Non-Whites that had a perfect score.
Ofthe 17 Non-White subjects, 35.3% ofthern were African American, 11.8% ofthem were
Asian, and 52.9% of them were Hispanic (Table 4).
Table 4
Number of Correctly Answered Questions: Non-Whites
Questions Correct
7
8
9
IO
I1
Participants
3
3
5
5
1
Percentage
17.6
I7.6
29.4
29.4
5.9
The 17 subjects who were Non-Whites, 11 (64. 7%) answered 2 of the first 3 constant
questions correctly. Of the first 3 constant questions, the 17 Non-White subjects answered an
average of 1.82 of the 3 correctly. Only one of the 17 Non-Whites answered all of the 3
questions incorrectly.
The 17 Non-White subjects reported varied levels of their mothers' completed level of
education. Of the 17 total subjects, 2 reported that their mothers obtained a Master's Degree and
3 reported their mothers obtained a Bachelor's Degree. Of the other 12 mothers, 1 acquired
22
some college credit, 6 completed high school as their highest form of education, and 5 did not
graduate high school. Of the 17 Non-Whlte subjects, 70.6% of their mothers reported completed
level of education was lower than a college degree.
The 17 Non-Whlte subjects reported varied levels of their fathers ' completed level of
education. Of the 17 total subj ects, 3 reported that their fathers obtained a Master's Degree and
2 reported their fathers obtained a Bachelor's Degree. Of the other 12 fathers, 1 acquired an
Associate's degree, 3 acquired some college credit, 5 completed high school as their highest
form of education, and 3 did not graduate high school. Of the 17 Non-White subjects, 70.6% of
their fathers reported completed level of education was lower than a college degree (Table 5).
Table 5
Non-White Mother & Father Educalional Levels
Identifier
Mother
Father
At least a
College Degree
5
5
Percentage
29.4%
29.4%
No College Degree
12
12
Analysis of Open-Ended Questions
Percentage
70.6%
70.6%
Ofthe 91 participants, 19 (20.9%) reported that they would vote for Obama in the 2012
presidential election, whjJe 23 (25.3%) reported they would not vote for a Republican candidate.
On the other hand, 42 respondents (46.2%) reported they would vote for a Republican candidate
23
in the 2012 presidential election, while 63 (69.2%) said they would not vote for Obama. The
numbers do not add up properly, inferring that participants reported that they would not vote for
either candidate, reported they would vote for both, or reported they would vote for one or the
other. Respondents reported that 8. 7% of them were undecided when asked if they would vote
for Obama, while 28.5% of respondents reported they were undecided when asked if they would
vote for a Republican candidate (Table 6).
Table 6
Would you vote for Obama or Republican candidate in 2012 Presidential Election?
Obama
Republican
Yes
19
42
No
63
23
Undecided
8
26
As part of the study, subjects reported their opinions in regards to the 2012 presidential
election, specifically attributing their opinions towards Obama and a possible election of a
Republican candidate. Several trends occurred throughout the responses including several
subjects who all reported that they would not vote for a Republican candidate because they
disagreed with specific policy issues or policy inhiatives. Two specific areas of interest to those
who reported they would not vote for a Republican candidate was due to conservative support or
lack thereof for gay marriage and abortion. Some responses included passionate rhetoric such as
the following, "I would not, (vote for a Republican candidate) because the modem Republican
party consists of radical, fundamentalist hypocrites who presided over an era of financial
irresponsibility, a reckless foreign policy, and a disastrous domestic policy. Fuck the Republican
24
party."39 Others attributed their opposition to the Republican candidates because, "their outdated
Bible-based stance on social issues disgusts me.'"'0 Another subject who vocally opposed
support for any Republican Candidate did so because, "of their lack of support for gay, lesbian,
bisexual citizens, their use of Christianity as moral guidance, and their Jack of support for
women's rights, such as the (free) use of contraceptives and the option of abortion.'"' 1 Those in
opposition to the Republican Party vocalized their disagreement based around social policy
issues.
Another significant trend within respondents of their potential support in 2012 for a
Republican candidate included a variety of support because of their hopes that a Republican
candidate could help with the turmoil 's of the economy. Responses included phrases such as,
"Republican candidates seem to have great plans for getting America back on its feet,"42 as well
as, "I would definitely vote for a republican candidate. They are conservative and know how to
tum this country around and get it back on its feet.'"'3 The average number of correctly answered
questions for all subjects that reported they would vote for a Republican candidate in 2012
because of their hopes in their ability to tum the economy around was 9.06, a passing score.
A common trend often found among those who are uninformed and unexposed to the
workings of government are the reported answers including things such as, "Yes, (I would vote
for a Republican candidate) because that is what my parents are so I am republican."44
Although, not all subj ects who attributed their political support based on their parents support
seemed uninformed. A subject answered whether she would vote for a Republican candidate in
39 Subject response: #6 of Survey 3
40 Subject response: #9 of Survey 3
41 Subject response: # 18 of Survey 7
42 Subject response #4 of Survey 5
43 Subject #33 of Survey 7
44 Subject # I 0 of Survey 7
25
the 2012 Presidential Election with an affirmative "yes" followed by an informative response
that shows how the subject has formulated their own reasoning for their political affiliation and
vote.
"Yes; I grew up Republican. I still believe in small government and corporations acting
in their best interest and thus the best interest of the economy; I hold with some of the
moral values that Republicans have. However, my decision would be based on many of
the same issues raised with the current party, and also their view on immigration. I
believe that many of the Republican candidates ideas on immigration treat immigrants as
less than human. I believe that the immigration process should be eased, in order for the
current undocumented immigrants to become citizens, and then strengthening the border
security designs, as opposed to trying to deport all current undocumented immigrants."45
Several respondents were unsure about their decision and had not formulated a reasoning
behind why they would or why they would not vote for a Republican candidate. One of the
noteworthy trends among the reported responses that were "undecided" was the opinion that they
did not vote according to party lines but voted for an individual candidate based on their
individual policy ideas. One individual subject responded by stating, "l do not know who r
would vote for in 2012 because l do not necessarily vote based on political party, but instead on
the qualities of the candidate.'"'6 Another subject responded by stating, "I don't vote for a
party .. l vote for a politician.'"'7 The average number of correctly answered questions on behalf
of all subjects who responded with undecided answers because their decision is based off of
individual candidate qualities, not parties, was 8.2, just shy of a passing score.
Another significant trend among those who reported that they would not vote for a
Republican Candidate in the 2012 Presidential Election is that they specifically noted they would
not vote for Rick Perry. Three subjects reported answers including Rick Perry, 2 of them
including a "yes" answer towards a Republican candidate, as long as it was not Rick Perry, and I
45 Subject # 16 of Survey 7
46 Subject #23 of Survey 7
47 Subject #25 of Survey 7
26
subject answered "no" because they refused to vote for Rick Perry. The average number of
correctly answered questions on behalf of these 3 subjects was, 9.33, a passing score.
As with those who reported their djsagreement with Republican candidates because of
policy issues, others reported their objection to reelecting Obama in 2012 because of their
differences with some of his policy issues. Subject's responses spanned from an objection to rus
handlings or the Iraqi war, torus financial and fiscal policy, to his reported "failures" in the
White House. It is interesting to notice that the number of questions answered correctly by all
subjects who disagreed with Obama's past policy initiatives and decisions is just shy of I 0
questions (9.72).
A sigruficant trend found among those who reported that they would vote for Obama in
the 2012 Presidential Campaign, was the interest in keeping a Republican out of office. One
subject reported that they would vote for Obama again in 2012 because, "he's not as bad as the
Republicans I've seen."48 Several subjects who reported they would vote for Obama in 2012
because he was a better alternative than a Republican, specifically reported their opposition to
Rick Perry. One subject specifically stated, "I would not vote for Rick Perry."49 Notice how
both Obama responses and Republican responses suggested Rick Perry specifically in their open-ended
replies and no other candidate was mentioned by name.
In comparison to the Republican sentiment towards the economy, several subjects
reported they would not vote for Obama in 2012 because ofrus handling of the current economic
crisis. One subject reported that, "He (Obama) ruined our economy."50 Another subject
vocalized their disposition to Obama's economic plans by stating that, "Obama is a socialist who
41 Subject #9 of Survey 3
49 Subject #29 of Survey 7
50 Subject #6 of Survey 5
27
apparently has no interest in fixing our economy. " 51 Others complruned of his lack of iilltiative
and lack of job creation, as response to their opposition to reelecting him as president in 2012.
Eight subjects reported their opinion of Obama as a Socialist. One individual's response
was very vocal about their disposition towards Obama including reasons why the subject thinks
he is a socialist and their fear of his reelection. When asked if the subject would vote for Obama
in the 2012 Presidential Election the subject responded with,
"No, because Obama has his own agenda that he is trying to push which furthers
American to becoming a socialist country, which is something I won't stand for. We are
a Federal Republic, and it's about time we had a President back in office who remembers
this and does not try (to) grow the government more and allows it to totaJly take control
of the United States. The Government should be there for reference and to keep things in
order- not to rule the people. He also insults American citizens and their intelligence on a
regular basis- as well as other countries, including our allies. Obama does not believe in
God except for when he is trying to win us over by saying "God Bless America." He is
not true blue and he does not seem to care about America the way I would want my
leader to." 52
The four subjects who specifically caJled Obama a Socialist averaged 9.4 correct answers out of
the 12 total questions (78.3%).
Summary and Conclusions
Data for this study included 91 subjects that attended Texas A&M University-Commerce,
a regional state university, who were pursuing an undergraduate degree. Data was acquired from
September 20 It-October 2011 through an online survey portal, SurveyMonkey. The questions
used as part of the study were adapted from the United States Citizenship Test and the scoring
rubric was adapted from their measurements as well. The questions were reworded and asked
51 Subject #2 of Survey 4
52 Subject # 2 of Survey 7
28
randomly as part of a randomly assigned survey, including 3 questions that appeared on each
survey. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 12. 0.
Based on the results of this study, participants attending a regional state university know
more than the researcher expected. Their knowledge of government and civic involvement
measured higher than estimated by the information provided by the founder's feelings towards
their level of awareness and capability to elect the president. Their measured success as
determined in comparison to the United States Citizenship Test exceeds the basic requirements.
The United States Citizenship Test uses similar questions and a similar format for their
measurement of knowledge and participants must score 60% or higher in order to pass and
receive citizenship status; thus, the results from this test indicating an average passing score of
75%. These results, when compared to the requirement of the United States Citizenship Test
show that the participants in this study did comparably well and knew a respectable level of
knowledge regarding the government and its workings.
The purpose of this study was to determine the relevance and necessity of the Electoral
College as a result of the level of knowledge and awareness of the American voters. A
secondary purpose was to determine what demographic factors affected undergraduate students
at a regional state university's level of knowledge and awareness of government and politics.
The selected variables used to measure differences and variances included (1) gender, (2)
ethnicity, (3) mother's educational level, ( 4) father 's educational level, (5) completion of History
1301 or equivalent, (6) completion of History 1302 or equivalent, (7) completion of Political
Science 2301 or equivalent, and (8) completion of Political Science 2302. This study also
studied, despite demographic data, what level of knowledge and awareness those in attendance at
29
a regional state university pursuing an undergraduate degree had as a sample of the American
people.
Due to their specific demographics and backgrounds their levels of knowledge and
awareness varied. Whites overwhelmingly participated in this study, making it difficult to draw
any concrete conclusions regarding race as a factor. There is a bias in the data and it cannot be
applied to the entire American voting population as a whole because of the lack of significant
participation on behalf of minority races. According to the data, white male subjects, whose
parents acquired a high level of completed education, and they had exposure to the preliminary
studies in both History and Political Science performed best within this study.
Although the participants of this study performed beyond the predicted expectations, they
created a difficult measure of awareness due to their open-ended responses. Although it is
measured through their survey scores that on average, they are knowledgeable of basic
governmental structures and functions, it seems that many are unaware of the application of such
knowledge in everyday life. Responses such as, "Obama is a socialist," commented by
participants who passed with 75% or higher cause a complexity in attempting to draw
conclusions about their overall knowledge and awareness. Despite your political alignment or
ideology, it is obvious that Obarna is indeed, not a socialist and his ideology is not reflective of
socialist ideals. Other responses including those who commented that they would not vote for
either candidate indicate that their overall knowledge might not be an accurate representation of
their overall awareness. Even if the participant scored a perfect score on their survey questions
that should not indicate their awareness and ability to see the application of ideologies in
practice.
30
Another obscurity provided by the data is that there was no measurement within the study
that indicated how much influence people received from any other forms of involvement besides
them self. There is no measurement indicating their level of influence on their voting decision
based on any data that lies outside their knowledge of government. However intelligent and
knowledgeable a participant might be regarding governmental functions and workings, their
outside influences and ability to create their own opinions is not measured but should still play a
consideration in the analysis of the data.
The disparity provided by the survey scores and the responses to the open-ended
questions cause friction in the debate regarding the relevance and significance of the Electoral
College. Keeping in mind that this study was executed in order to measure knowledge and
awareness of students, it also gathered first hand insight of people's opinions and feelings
towards the current administration and the potential switch in political party among parties. The
Electoral College is affected by numerous factors and is determined necessary and unnecessary
by different research according to the interpretation of data such as this study. The Electoral
College debate cannot be answered by a simple yes or no, according to the complex data and
conclusions provided within the narrow parameters of this survey.
The findings from this study suggest that the American voter does know a substantial
amount of information regarding government, civics and politics. Thus, the findings propose that
if the primary motivation for the Electoral College was to protect against the lack of knowledge
and awareness of the American people, it is no longer a required mechanism of our electoral
process. Based on the previously discussed literature, the arguments made for and against the
Electoral College and how those arguments can be refuted and supported by the data from this
survey.
31
After analyzing the data is it plausible to propose that the candidate that wins the popular
vote should be considered as the winner because of the respectable level of knowledge that the
American people seem to have. As discussed in Delli Carpini and Keeter's study, it was
suggested that political knowledge and factual understanding be measured in order to determine
the American people's level of knowledge. Within their study, they found similar trends as this
study in that gender and age show substantial differences in the varied levels of knowledge
among their participants. Contrary to Delli Carpini and Keeter's findings, this study found that
the voters have a respectable amount of knowledge regarding politics. Within the parameters of
their study they found that the level of education of their participants to be a significant factor in
determining the varying levels of political knowledge. That is significant in accordance with this
study because this investigation focused on participants who were enrolled at a university
pursuing an undergraduate degree.
Jennifer Jerit, Jason Barabas, and Toby Boisen indicated in their research as well that the
higher the level of formal education the more political knowledge and awareness the people
have. Thus, this survey should permit higher levels of knowledge and awareness than a survey
that includes varying levels of educational attainment because of its focused use of participants
in college.
The findings of this study propose that the use of the Electoral College is not necessary in
today's society according to the argument that it is solely needed in order to preserve and protect
from the lack of knowledge of the American voters. It cannot be ignored that there are several
other reasons for the use of the Electoral College including protection of the two-party system,
and the protection against corruption and its ability to provide stabi lity to a complex mechanism
of government. Without the Electoral College it is probable that these other issues would surface
32
and create even more complications and issues to deal with. It cannot be concluded from the
fmdings ofthjs study whether or not the total abolition of the Electoral College is necessary but
it can be argued that the focus group of participants that were included in this study do know a
respectable amount of information regarding politics and government. When discussing
knowledge and awareness and the contrast between the two, it is evident that the general
population used in this survey have a respectable amount of knowledge regarding government
and politics. However, it is important to note that their Jack of awareness is unmeasured and
therefore unknown. Through discussion and other author's points of view it is noted that those
that are knowledgeable are not always aware and those that are aware are not always
knowledgeable. Because of the disparity and difference between knowledge and awareness it is
difficult to conclude whether the American people are more knowledgeable or more aware, and
which one indicates more precisely the effectiveness and usefulness of the Electoral College.
33
References
Adkinson, DannyM. and Christopher Elliott. "The Electoral College: A Misunderstood
Institution." PS: Political Science and Politics 30, no. 1 (March 1997).
Brown, Richard D., ed. Major Problems in the Era ofthe American Revolution, 1760-1 791 2nd
Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000.
Delli Carpini, Michael X., and Scott Keeter. "Measuring Political Knowledge: Putting First
Things First." American Journal of Political Science 37, no. 4 (Nov 1993).
Delli, Carpini, Michael X., and Scott Keeter. "Stability and Change in the U.S. Public's
Knowledge of Politics." The Public Opinion Quarterly 55, no. 4 (Winter 1991 ).
Dewey, Donald 0. "Madison's Views on Electoral Reform." The Western Political Quarterly 15,
no. 1 (March 1962).
Diamond, Martin and Birch Bayh. "The Electoral College and the Idea of Federal Democracy."
Pub/ius 8, no. 1 (Winter 1978
Dixon, Robert G. Jr. "Electoral College Procedure." The Western Political Quarterly 3, no. 2
(June 1950).
Edwards, George C. Ill. "The Faulty Premises of the Electoral College," in "The Presidency and
the Political System," edited by Michael Nelson, 9th Edition. CQ Press, Washington D.C.,
2010.
Fon, Viney. "Electoral College Alternatives and US Presidential Elections." Supreme Court
Economic Review 12, no. 1 (2004).
Gaines, Brian J. "Popular Myths about Popular Vote-Electoral College Splits." PS: Political
Science and Politics 34, no. 1 (March 200 I ).
Gimpel, James G., Karen M. Kaufmann, and Shanna Pearson-Merkowitz. "Battleground States
versus Blackout States: The Behaviorallmplications of Modem Presidential Campaigns."
The Journal of Politics 69, no. 3 (August 2007).
Harvard Law Review. "Rethinking the Electoral College Debate: The Framers, Federalism, and
One Person, One Vote." Harvard Law Review 114, no. 8 (June 2001).
Jerit, Jennifer, Jason Barabas and Toby Boisen. "Citizens, Knowledge, and the Information
Environment." American Journal of Political Science 50, no. 2 (April 2006).
Kefauver, Estes. "The Electoral College: Old Reforms Take on a New Look." Law and
Contemporary Problems 27, no. 2 (Spring 1962).
34
Kimberling, William C. "The Electoral College," Essays in Elections, no. I (1992): 2.
Kluth, Andres, "Special Report: Democracy in California, The People's Will," The Economist
399, no. 8730 (April 2011 ).
Longley, Lawrence D. and James D. Dana Jr. "The Biases of the Electoral College in the
1990's." Polity 25, no.1 (Autumn, 1992).
Schumaker, Paul. "Review: Untitled," Reviewed work: Why the Electoral College is Bad for
America by George C. Edwards III, Perspectives on Politics 3, no. 2 (June 2005).
Sedgwick, Jeffrey Leigh. "James Madison and the Problem of Executive Character." Polity 21,
no. 1 (Autumn 1988).
Slon.im, SWomo. "The Electoral College at Philadelphia: The Evolution of an Ad Hoc Congress
for the Selection of a President." The Journal of American History 73, no. 1 (June 1986).
Smith, Eric R.A.N. and Peverill Squire. "Direct Election of the President and the Power ofthe
States." The Western Political Quarterly 40, no. 1 (March 1987).
Sterling, Carleton W. "Review: The Strange Case of the Electoral College." The Review of
Politics 39, no. 1 (January 1977).
Sterling, Carleton W. "The Electoral College Biases Revealed: The Conventional Wisdom and
Game Theory Models Notwithstanding." The Western Polilical Quarterly 31, no. 2 (June
1978).
Testi, Arnaldo. "The Tribulations of an Old Democracy." The Journal of American History 88,
no. 2 (September 200 1 ).
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2007).
35

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Transcript

uReleva11ce a11d Necessity of the Electoral College"
An Investigation of the Founder's Intent in the Creation of the Electoral College
and its Current Significance
An Honors Thesis
Jordan McCarty
Submitted to the Texas A&M University-Commerce Honors Committee in partial
fu lfillment of the Program of llonors tudy leading to the degree of Bachelor of c1ence
in Political Science & History
Directed by
Dr. Eric Gruver
Assistant Professor
History
December 5, 20 II
Approved:
JA_dvisor
( __ -~
\...~ ~...-t._ t~c/
Committee Member
~ 7a5iSL:---­~
~p~ead
--
Dean, College of Humanities, ocial Sciences and Arts
"Relevance and Necessity of tile Electoral College"
An Investigation of the Founder's Intent in the
Creation of the Electoral College and its Current Significance
Jordan Renee McCarty
Advisor: Dr. Eric Gruver
December 1, 2011
List of Tables
Chapter 1: Introduction
Chapter 2: Literature Review
Table of Contents
Chapter 3: Current Argument of the Electoral College
Chapter 4: Method of Study
Chapter 5: Data Analysis
Chapter 6: Analysis of Open-Ended Questions
Chapter 7: Summary and Findings
References
3
4
6
15
17
19
23
28
34
2
List ofTables
Table 1: Number of Correctly Answered Questions: Gender
Table 2: 3 Constant Questions: Gender
Table 3: Classes Previously Taken
Table 4: Number of Correctly Answered Questions: Non-Whites
Table 5: Non-White Mother and Father Educational Levels
Table 6: Would you Vote for Obama or Republican candidate in the 2012 Presidential election?
3
Introduction
In 1787, fifty-five men met to construct a document that would re-organize the young and
dysfunctional Unjted States of America. The Constitutional Convention was primarily Jed by
key personalities who came prepared to create a system that would unite 13 rusjointed en6ties.
James Madison, among his many ideas to shape a federal government, proposed the creation of
an Electoral College that would formally elect the president and vice-president. After much
deliberation, the delegates decided that the Electoral College would be included in the final draft
ofthe Constitution. The framers of the Constitution decided that the Electoral College would
consist of electors, equal to the representation of the House of Representatives and the Senate,
and a candidate would have to receive a simple majority of the total votes cast by the electors in
order to claim victory. This concept was implemented by the founders because they believed
electors would be better informed than the average American voter because each state's
legislature would select the electors for their respective state. Given the importance of the
Electoral College and the founders' rationale and objectives for creating it, trus study
investigated whether or not the rationale exists today- that is, that the Electoral College is
necessary due to the American voter's lack of understanding of government and political issues. 1
The founders created the Electoral College to provide an alternative choice to popular
opinion in consideration of the final election. No members of Congress were allowed to serve as
electors from their state, prorubiting a conflict of interest within the election process as the
framers wished to create a comprorruse between a purely popular result and an election decided
by the Electoral College. To avoid favoritism each elector submitted two votes, one for someone
outside of their home state and the other for whomever they wanted. George Mason of Virginia
supported the idea of an Electoral College because he claimed that "the people were least
1 William C. Kimberling, "The Electoral College," Essays in Elections, no. I ( 1992): 2.; Ibid.
4
qualified to make a good selection." There was widespread distrust of popular elections because
it was understood that many of those who participated in the elections did not vote according to
rationale, but rather emotion. The framers of the Constitution were scared of the effects that a
true democracy would bring, including who the popular vote might bring into power. The
discontent towards a popular vote stemmed from the belief that, "unusual circumstances in an
election might make them (the general public) over-excited and unreasoning in their choice."2
Dewey's comment proposing that the general public be "over-excited" refers to their inability to
make a decision despite bias and emotion. 3
Madison, often noted as the father of the Constitution, attended the Constitutional
Convention eager to consider the establishment of a process that would ensure the country was
led by a respectable and qualified leader. His principal concern was to create "such a process of
elections as will most certainly extract from the mass of the Society the purest and noblest
characters which it contains.'.4 Madison's Electoral College would consist of chosen electors,
and would bring the most highly qualified men into office to serve and lead the country; he
projected that since the electors only met once, individually cast their ballots, and had little to no
interaction, corruption would be mitigated if not prevented. The Electoral College would
prevent those who were not as qualified as electors from casting a vote solely based on emotion
to make the final decision for the president, and would allow candidates from smaller states a
2 Donald 0 . Dewey, " Madison's Views on Electoral Reform," The Western Political Quarterly 15, no. I (March
1962).
3 Ibid.; Ibid.; Richard D. Brown, ed. Major Problems in the Era of the American Revolution, 1760-1791 :r' Edition,
(Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000), 425.
4 The Papers of James Madison Digital Edition, J. C. A. Stagg, editor. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press,
Rotunda, 20 I 0. Original source: Congressional Series, Volume I 0 (27 May 1787-3 March 1788).; Jeffrey Leigh
Sedgwick. "James Madison and the Problem of Executive Character," Polity 2 1, no. I (Autumn 1988).; Sedgwick,
"James Madison," 20; Dewey, " Madison's Views," 142-143.
5
better chance at getting elected. Confident, Madison believed that there were "advantages in the
intervention of Electors, and inconveniences in a direct vote by the people."5
Such advantages included a well known electoral base that allowed for the people to
choose their representatives wisely, an opportunity for the electors to use their superior judgment
when necessary, and a rational system of voting. George Mason added that, "it would be as
unnatural to refer the choice of a proper character for Chief Magistrate to the people, as it would
to refer a trial of colours to a blind man.'.6 Mason's metaphor creates a comparison between the
ability of the American people to choose a president and a blind man's ability to see color.
Not all Convention attendees agreed with Madison and his supporters. Revolutionary
fire-brands John Hancock and Samuel Adams opposed the idea of a decreased democracy and
became members of the group known as the Anti-Federalists who fought for the direct election
of the president on behalf of the people he would lead. Geographical divisions can be to blame
for those in opposition to the Electoral College, because it balanced the interests of the large,
highly populated states with those of the less populated, smaller states. The Electoral College
was not the sole cause of contention between the Anti-Federalists and the Federalists who
supported a strong and powerful national government, but it was an issue that endured
substantial revision and changes before inclusion in the Constitution. 7
Literature Review
Debates regarding the existence and/or structure of the Electoral College have occurred
since its inception. According to former Tennessee congressman, Estes Kefauver, almost one-
5 Dewey, "Madison's Views," 141.
6 Sedgwick, "James Madison," 20.
7 Ibid.; Dewey, "Madison's Views," 144.
6
tenth of the constitutional amendments ever filed in Congress up to 1962 related to Electoral
College reform. Economist and Professor Viney Fon, in " Electoral College Alternatives and
U.S. Presidential Elections," proposed that adjustments within the allocation of the Electoral
College votes would be an efficient way of distributing the will of the people through the
legitimacy of the votes the electors have. She implied moving away from the winner-take-all
system currently practiced in every state except Maine and Nebraska, and adopting an allocation
method of voting. The winner-take-all-system assigns all electoral votes from a state to the
candidate who obtained the most popular votes. Fon emphasized that this allocation style would
achieve the original desire of the founders for the Electoral College to represent the interest of
the individual states rather than just the interest of the individuals. 8
Two-time elector Lawrence D. Longley explained that the structure of the Electoral
College provides advantages and disadvantages to different groups within different states. After
deciphering data regarding average voting power, Longley argued that "urban citizens-voters
have above average voting power in the electoral college, while rural citizen-voters, on the other
hand, are relatively disadvantaged by the present electoral college."9 Longley's argument brings
attention to the disproportionate affiliation the different states have within the electoral system
because of their number of electoral representatives. As part of the electoral system, larger states
have more electoral votes because of their larger populations and larger representation in
Congress. James D. Dana Jr., coauthor of"The Biases of the Electoral College in the 1990' s,"
agreed with Longley's judgment that geographical and demographic considerations present some
states with advantages and disadvantages within their electoral representation. Geographical
8 Estes Kefauver, "The Electoral College: Old Reforms Take on a New Look," Law and Contemporary Problems
27, no. 2 (Spring 1962).; Viney Fon, "Electoral College Alternatives and US Presidential Elections," Supreme
Court Economic Review 12, no. I (2004).; Fon, " Electoral College Alternatives," 42.
9 Longley, "Biases of the Electoral College," 140.
7
advantages include states whose location incorporates them into a group that receive a lot of
attention because of their needs and importance they contain. Demographic advantages include
those states that have a majority of both rural or urban populations and their significance within
their representation. Carleton W. Sterling, specialist in voter participation and Assistant
Professor at the University ofNotre Dame, contended that because of the liberal tendencies of
the current structure of the Electoral College big cities and minority voters have a heavier
weighted voter influence within larger states. The representations of larger states are forced to
listen and act according to their constituents more predominately who are comparably more
liberal in political alignment. In Presidential Elections, Nelson Polsby and Aaron Wildavsky's
argued:
"The outright abolition of the Electoral College, and the substitution of the direct election
of the president, would certainly reduce the importance of the large states. The emphasis
would not be on which candidate was going to win the state, already a foregone
conclusion, but by how many votes he was going to win. The small states do not gain,
however, because even when they are one-party, they are not large enough to generate
substantial voting margins. Direct election thus changes the advantage from the biggest
and the smallest two-party states to the medium-sized one-party states, and these, in the
United States, happen most commonly to be located in the South."10
These experts all agreed that resentment towards the Electoral College is justifiable due to the
fallibility projected to voters within the structure of the college itself. 11
Robert G. Dixon Jr., Law Professor at Washington University, claimed that the Electoral
College is a system used to convert the will of the people-their vote- into electoral votes.12
This perception is expressed throughout literature regarding the critique of the Electoral College,
10 Eric R.A.N Smith and Peverill Squire, "Direct Election of the President and the Power of the States," The
Western Political Quarterly 40, no. I (March 1987).
11 Lawrence D Longley and James D. Dana Jr., "The Biases of the Electoral College in the 1990's," Polity 25, no. I
(Autumn, 1992).; Carleton W Sterling, "The Electoral College Biases Revealed: The Conventional Wisdom and
Game Theory Models Notwithstanding," The Western Political Quarterly 31, no. 2 (June 1978).; Carleton W
Sterling, "The Electoral College Biases Revealed: The Conventional Wisdom and Game Theory Models
Notwithstanding," The Western Political Quarterly 31 , no. 2 (June 1978).;
12 Robert G. Dixon Jr., "Electoral College Procedure," The Western Political Quarterly 3, no. 2 (June 1950).; Fon,
" Electoral College Alternatives," 42.
8
all the while other critics, such as Fon, argued that under any electoral allocation system the
candidate that wins the popular vote can lose the election. Critics argue both sides of the system,
contending that the system is illegitimate because of the opportunity for either condition to
occur. Brian J. Gaines, in "Popular Myths about Popular Vote-Electoral College Splits,"
summed up his view in a clever analogy: "Arguing that a candidate 'deserves' the presidency
because he won a popular vote plurality is akin to arguing that a team 'really won' a football
game in which it out-gained its opponents in total yards but somehow failed to score."13 He
further opined that if the Electoral College remains in existence then the winner of the popular
vote is merely just a "curiosity."14 While historians have debated the validity and fairness of the
Electoral College, others have contested their arguments with its ability to preserve the original
intention of the founders.
Historian Martin Diamond and former United States Senator Birch Bayh, co-authors of
"The Electoral College and the Idea of Federal Democracy," suggested that the structure of the
Electoral College provides legitimacy within a true national campaign, preserves the traditional
two-party system, and is responsive to change throughout its existence. The argument here is
that the Electoral College is able to adapt to changes made throughout its duration according to
its founding principles and its ability to maintain its primary function despite changes. Bayh and
Diamond proposed that the Electoral College did these things because of the internal stability it
provides within the chaos that goes on within presidential campaigns. These ideas serve to
support the Electoral College despite arguments made against the institution, and advocate for its
continued use within the presidential selection. Historian John J. Turner Jr. and Professor
Sterling both agreed that the Electoral College is better than a direct election of the president by
13 Brian J Gaines, " Popular Myths about Popular Vote-Electoral College Splits," PS: Political Science and Politics
34, no. I (March 200 I).
14 Gaines, "Popular Myths," 75.
9
the popular vote because they fear that direct election would provoke fragmentation within the
political arena and disrupt the balance and stability that exists within the structure of the
institution. 15 Turner stated, "This system is an integral part of the delicate mechanism which
makes it possible for our vast, complex society to govern itself with some stability."16
Arthur Schlesinger Jr., in "The Tribulations of an Old Democracy," argued that
abolishing the Electoral College would "foster the birth of a host of smaJI parties that would
accumulate Electors around the United States and then act as power brokers in the Electoral
College."17 ln other words, Schlesinger thought it wise to keep the structure of the Electoral
College in place to avoid destruction of the modem two-party system. It is important to note that
the success of the two party system in the United States is dependent on the rich historical
tradition of the American people and because of the winner-take-aJI system. Due to the majority
of the states using such a system, it is nearly impossible for a minority party to gather enough
votes to overcome a majority party within the United States Electoral System. Shlomo Slonim,
Chair of the Department of American Studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, in "The
Electoral College at Philadelphia: The Evolution of an Ad Hoc Congress for the Selection of a
President," reminded readers that the Electoral College's existence is a "reflection of the
Founding Fathers' deep distrust of democracy." 18 As previously stated, this deep distrust stems
from their inability to cast a rational vote and to acquire as much knowledge and wisdom of the
electoral system as the more knowledgeable electors. Slonim further suggested that "in the eyes
15 Martin Diamond and Birch Bayh,"The Electoral College and the Idea of Federal Democracy," Pub/ius 8, no. I
(Winter 1978).; Carleton W. Sterling, " Review: The Strange Case of the Electoral College," The Review of Politics
39, no. I (January 1977). See Judith Best, "The Case against Direct Election of the President: A Defense of the
Electoral College," The Review of Politics 39, no. I (January, 1977), pp. 120-122.;
16 John J. Jr. Turner, "One Vote for the Electoral College," The History Teacher 40, no. 3 (May 2007).
17 Amaldo Testi, "The Tribulations of an Old Democracy," The Journal of American History 88, no. 2 (September
200 1).
18 Shlomo Slonim, "The Electoral College at Philadelphia: The Evolution of an Ad Hoc Congress for the Selection
of a President," The Journal of American History 13, no. I (June 1986).
10
of its admirers, the Electoral College represented a brilliant scheme for successfully blending
national and federal elements in the selection of the nation's ChiefMagistrate." 19 Jeffrey Leigh
Sedgwick, Professor of Political Science at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, stated
that the Electoral College provided, "a solution to both the problem of the republican executive
and the problem of federalism."20 All of these experts agreed that regardless of the disputes
about the details of the Electoral College process, it would be disastrous to abolish it because of
the protections and securities it provides.
Political scientists, Michael X. Delli Carpini and Scott Keeter mentioned in their studies
of public awareness and knowledge of politics that "a citizen's level offactual knowledge can be
gauged with a short series of survey questions," which is what many investigators of American
political knowledge have done? 1 Many researchers record their data and interpret the
information in order to further the knowledge of public political awareness. Through Delli
Carpini and Keeter's investigation they found that "gender, age, and strength of partisanship did
show some substantively significant variation across the different sub domains."22 Delli Carpini
and Keeter advanced their investigation and used their data to apply meaning to the lack of
knowledge of the American people. Within their findings they found it disturbing that a high
percentage of participants were extremely unknowledgeable and unaware of what they
considered basic political common sense. Although Delli Carpini and Keeter emphasize later in
their research that education played a key role in the rise of awareness and knowledge of the
American public, there is still a staggering level of lack of political knowledge and awareness
plaguing the American public. Political scientists Jennifer Jerit, Jason Barabas, and Toby
19 Slonim, "The Electoral College at Philadelphia," 58.
20 Sedgwick, "James Madison," 20.
21 Michael X. Delli Carpini and Scott Keeter, " Measuring Political Knowledge: Putting First Things First,"
American Journal of Political Science 37, no. 4 (Nov 1993).
22 Delli Carpini, " Measuring Political Knowledge," 1185.
1 1
Boisen, in "Citizens, Knowledge, and the Information Environment," concluded that "those who
have attained a higher level of formal education show greater gains than those with fewer years
of formal schooling ... "23 This conclusion is significant in regards to the public's level of
knowledge of politics because it reinforces the idea that "socioeconomic factors, such as being
rich or educated, are positively associated with political knowledge."24
A notable source of rhetoric that focuses on the Electoral College is George C. Edwards,
III's Why the Electoral College is Bad for America, and due to its noteworthy attributions many
challenge his ideas and publish reviews of his work. Paul Schumaker, Professor of Political
Science at the University of Kansas, reviewed Edwards' book and noted that Edwards points out
that the complexities some argue make the Electoral College so ingenious, are the same
complexities that allow for its failures. Edwards also points out problems with the Electoral
College in, "The Faulty Premises of the Electoral College," in which he argued that the Electoral
College violates political equality because it allows for certain votes to be more important than
others. Edwards argues that direct election would provide equality in voting power and would
substantially reduce room for third-party candidates. 25
There are many individuals that subject the Electoral College to scrutiny based on the
argument regarding "battleground and blackout states." This argument regarding the Electoral
College is widely known and accepted by many who research and study the significance and
relevance of the Electoral College as a system. James G. Gimpel, Karen M. Kaufmann, and
Shanna Pearson-Merkowitz, all Political Science Professors at the University of Maryland,
23 Jennifer Jerit, Jason Barabas, and Toby Boisen, "Citizens, Knowledge, and the Information Environment,"
American Journal of Political Science 50, no. 2 (April 2006).
24 Jerit, "Citizens," 266.
2s Paul Schumaker, " Review: Untitled," Reviewed work: Why the Electoral College is Bad for America by George
C. Edwards III, Perspectives on Politics 3, no. 2 (June 2005). ; George C. Edwards Ill, "The Faulty Premises of the
Electoral College," in The Presidency and the Political System, edited by Michael Nelson, 9th Edition. CQ Press,
Washington D.C., 20 I 0.
12
suggested that battleground states are pivotal to campaigns because they focus and use their
energies according to the importance of those states' electoral votes. Thus, citizens of
battleground states gain more exposure to the information surrounding a presidential election.
Many political scientists use a similar idea to propose that this is the reason why many people
living in blackout or non-battleground states lack initiative to mobilize their own support and
vote. Those proposing this idea use Gimpel, Kaufmann, and Pearson-Merkowitz's argument to
defend the Electoral College because of many citizens' lack of exposure and information
regarding presidential candidates?6
As stated in Gimpel, Kaufmann, and Pearson-Merkowitz's article, "If campaigns have the
power to inform and mobilize the electorate, then interest and turnout levels in the battleground
states should be quite different from that in the blackout states."27 That being said, there is a lot
of argument over whether the Electoral College is influential in the voting process, as
constituents take the notion that their vote does not count because the Electoral College will just
pick the candidate anyway. The use of the Electoral College should stimulate involvement and
awareness because the candidates fighting for the battleground states will expose their
constituents to a flood of information and are dependent on them to mobilize and vote in order to
gain their needed number of Electoral College votes. Due to the majority of states' usage of the
winner-take-all system, candidates depend on battleground state voters to take action and go to
the polls. Interestingly, Gimpel, Kaufmann, and Pearson-Merkowitz added that not only do
presidential campaigns pay particular attention and focus to the states with the largest voting
populations, they also found, "in recent years that large states are the focus of additional
26 James G. Gimpel, Karen M. Kaufmann, and Shanna Pearson-Merkowitz, "Battleground States versus Blackout
States: The Behavioral Implications of Modern Presidential Campaigns." The Journal of Politics 69, no. 3 (August
2007).
27 Gimpel, " Battleground," 788.
13
attention only if they meet the obvious additional condition that they are electorally
competitive. "28
With that in mind, it is evident that the "battleground versus blackout states" argument is
relevant regarding the Electoral College's influence. Large states are important for candidates to
access because they will pull in the most electoral votes, but if a state is known as a blackout
state, there will be minimal focus and attention paid to that state by both candidates. Although
blackout states run the risk and face problems of not getting much exposure to the candidates
because of their predetermined reputation, the battleground states reap the benefits of the
Electoral College system and, as Gimpel, Kaufmann, and Pearson-Merkowitz noted, "the
interaction of battleground status and low income, notably enhances the engagement of the have-nots,"
increasing voter turnout across a broader spectrum?9 Battleground states benefit from the
Electoral College because of the high level of activity that occurs within the state as part of the
candidate's fight to receive all the electoral votes.
As part of the creation of the Electoral College it is important to highlight the founder's
intent and how those intentions affect the relevance and necessity of the Electoral College today.
It cannot be explained through a simple list what it was and how it was that the founders created
the mechanism of the Electoral College but it can and should be noted what they found important
in order to create a system that they thought necessary at the time of the Constitutional
Convention.
An important aspect that signifies why the founders thought the Electoral College was
necessary was because of the lack of communication and inability to inform all the American
people. The founders were concerned about creating a system that solely relied on the
28 Ibid, 794.
29 Ibid, 792.
14
knowledge of the American people because they lived in a time when communication was not
instant. Their concern stemmed from the inability to keep every voter informed and up to date
on the important issues of the country as a whole because many were only aware of the problems
within their localized geographic area
The Harvard Law Review investigated the intent of the founders in the creation ofthe
Electoral College and found an argument against the use of the Electoral College because as a
nation we "no longer have a primitive communications infrastructure, an uninformed electorate,
or transportation problems that impede candidates from traveling the country."30 The nation has
undergone a gradual developmental change in its political philosophy that does not find the
Electoral College necessary anymore.
Current Argument of the Electoral College
Today, California is a prime example of how direct democracy can be a threat to the
existing institutions of government and a roadblock to efficient government. Andreas Kluth,
economist and journalist, investigated the current situation surrounding California's direct
democracy initiatives and found that despite its past record, California is suffering and steadily
falling into a pitfall of decline. As reported in The Economist, Switzerland adopted the
American Constitution almost verbatim and added their revisions, including the use of a strong
direct democracy. This allowed the Swiss to use their version of direct democracy ''to serve its
cultural and political purpose."31 California then adopted the Swiss model for themselves and
30 Harvard Law Review, "Rethinking the Electoral College Debate: The Framers, Federalism, and One Person, One
Vote," Harvard Law Review 114, no. 8 (June 2001 ).
31 Andreas Kluth, "Special Report: Democracy in America, The People's Will." The Economist 399, no. 8730 (April
2011).
15
tinkered even more with the original American model and created an extreme democracy that has
lead them down a path of economic destruction throughout the twentieth century.
James Madison once said, "a popular government without popular information or the
means of acquiring it is but a prologue to Farce or Tragedy or perhaps both. "32 This quote alone
identifies many of the problems Californians face every day as they present referendums,
initiatives, and propositions to their people and allow them to impulsively vote without adequate
information to form a credible answer. Several political scientists have created polls to test the
knowledge and awareness of California's population as they head to the ballot boxes and have
found some very interesting information. When asked about their confidence in regards to their
level of awareness and knowledge, the majority of respondents answered that they either know
"some" or "a lot of' information concerning state and local expenditures.33 "But when presented
with a list of the state's four biggest spending categories, only 22% oflikely voters correctly
named public schools at the largest," and, ''their grasp of state revenues was no better."34 This
information shows that many voters and active civic participants, who indeed claimed to know a
fair amount of information regarding their state and local government, knew very little and were
often incorrect about their information.
Kimberly Nalder, Professor at California State University in Sacramento, found that
those who are perceived to know more and be more informed were actually the least
knowledgeable and least informed. In her study, she asked California's population about the
notorious Proposition 13 and in her findings the best educated answered incorrectly by a larger
percentage than did those who had not even acquired a high school diploma. Additionally,
32 The Papers of James Madison Digital Edition, J. C. A. Stagg, editor. Charlottesville: University of Virg inia Press,
Rotunda, 20 I 0. Original source: Congressional Series, Volume I 0 (27 May 1787-3 March 1788).
33 Ibid.
34 Ibid.
16
Nalder found that wealthier respondents, who are known for being more knowledgeable and
active, knew less than the lower-income category. Even more shocking, fewer home-owners
whom were directly affected by Proposition 13 knew less about the proposal than renters. 35
Nalder's findings contribute to the rhetoric regarding voter knowledge and awareness and its
relation to the significance of direct democracy.
Nalder also gathered that many voters, " relied on advertisements, the internet, media
coverage and the like," for their source of information that helped them make their decision to
vote.36 This information reinforces the idea that many voters do not actively seek information
regarding the race they are voting in and the little information they do retain is from emotional
ads that are usually used as negative exposure to their opponent, rather than the person
themselves explaining their own side. Furthermore, Nalder found that it is not uncommon for
those who vote " yes" on a referendum to realize that they wanted to vote "no", but due to the
complex language and inability of the layman to understand intricate political and economic
jargon, they vote mistakenly.37 Nalder gathered all her findings and concluded that, "If those
most likely to think they have a grasp on political information are in fact wrong," then perhaps
we should "think twice about the wisdom of direct democracy."38
Method of Study
After approval from the IRB the researcher investigated whether or not undergraduate
students at a regional state university remain uninformed regarding the political system and
35 Ibid, 14.
36 Ibid.; Ibid.
37 Ibid.; Ibid.
38 Ibid, 15.
17
historical events as the framers and advocates of the Electoral College claimed ordinary citizens
to be. The study used the acquired data along with Madison's opinions, Thomas Jefferson's
arguments and ideologies, historians' perceptions, and popular discontent to further the
investigation.
The survey was administered to students at Texas A&M University-Commerce who were
actively pursuing their undergraduate degree, and the survey was available online for a period of
two months. Participants were asked to provide information regarding their age, gender, race,
mother's level of education, and father's level of education, as well as their opinions regarding
their potential vote in 2012. Before they began the survey, participants indicated what relevant
University Studies courses they had completed specifically United States History 1301 and 1302,
as well as Political Science 2301 and 2302. Upon entering the formal survey, each participant
answered twelve questions assigned at random and adapted from the United States Citizenship
test, which is available as a public record at www.uscis.gov. The test is used by the federal
government to measure immigrants' knowledge and awareness of U.S. History and Government
in order to consider naturalized citizenship. Regardless of random survey assignment, every
respondent answered the same three questions that remained constant and appeared as the first
three questions of the survey, providing that one-fourth of all questions were answered by all
participants. Throughout the data collection process anonymity of participants was maintained
and only information included in the demographic question section was used as identifiers.
Following data collection the results of the sample were analyzed to determine the
overall knowledge of the survey's participants, using a score of75% or higher as a passing score
which is higher than the standard (60%) set by the federal guidelines.
18
Data Analysis
This study included 91 participants who self-reported that they were undergraduate
students enrolled at Texas A&M University-Commerce. Overall data for this study indicated
that 71 (78.0%) subjects were female and 20 (22%) were male. Of the 91 respondents, 74
(81.3%) were White, 6 (6.6%) were African American, 2 (2.2%) were Asian, and 9 (9.9%) were
Hispanic.
The mean number of questions answered correctly was 9.19 of 12 total questions,
resulting in an average score of 76.5%. The lowest score was 4 correct answers out of 12
questions (33.3%), and six participants earned a perfect score (1 00%). The mean number of
correctly answered questions was higher for male participants (9.80) than female participants
(9.01).
Of the 71 female subjects, 27 (38%) failed to answer 9 or more of the 12 total questions
correctly. Of the 20 male respondents, 4 (20%) failed to answer 9 or more of the 12 total
questions correctly. Of the 71 female subjects, the average number of correctly answered
questions was 9.01 , with a standard deviation of 1.599. Of the 20 male subjects, the average
number of correctly answered questions was 9 .80, with a standard deviation of 1.361 . The data
representing the correlation between male and female subjects, and the number of correctly
answered questions is represented by a statistically significant positive correlation of .208, p <
.048 (Table 1). At-test was run indicating the statistical significance between gender and mean
number of correctly answered questions.
19
Table 1
Number of Correctly Answered Questions: Gender
Group
Everyone
Female
Male
Participants
91
71
20
Mean
9.19
9.01
9.80
Standard Deviation
1.577
1.599
1.361
The survey included 3 questions that appeared as the flrst three questions on every survey
and the mean of participants' correct answers for these three questions was just under 2 (1.85).
Cases of both I 00% and 0% occurred and a standard deviation of .855 (Table 2).
Table 2
3 Constant Questions: Gender
Participants
Female
Male
Mean # of Correct Questions
1.8
2.0
Standard Deviation
.856
.858
The participants reported varied levels of completed education by their mothers.
Fourteen (15.4%) reported their mother's educational level equivalent to a Master's Degree or
higher, 22 (24.1 %) mothers completed a Bachelor's Degree, 12 (13.2%) mothers completed an
Associate's Degree, 19 (20.9%) mothers completed some college, 17 (18.7%) mothers
completed high school, and 7 (7.7%) mothers did not graduate from high school. Over one-third
ofthe subjects had mothers who completed a Bachelor's Degree or higher. Of the 91 total
20
subjects, 60.5% of them had mothers who did not complete college and acquire a minimum of a
Bachelor's Degree.
The 91 participants also reported varied levels of completed education by their fathers.
Twenty-one ofthe 91 total subjects (23.1%) reported their father's educational level equivalent
to a Master's Degree or higher, 18 fathers (19.8%) completed a Bachelor's Degree, 8 fathers
(8.8%) completed an Associate's Degree, 18 fathers (19.8%) completed some college, 20 fathers
(22%) completed high school, and 6 fathers (6.6%) did not graduate from high school. Just
under half(42.9%) ofthe subjects had fathers who completed a Bachelor's Degree or higher. Of
the 91 total subjects, 57.2% of them had fathers who did not complete college and acquired a
minimum of a Bachelor's Degree.
The respondents had completed a variation of History 1301, History 1302, Political
Science 2301, and Political Science 2302. More students participated in history classes than
political science classes. The least amount of students participated in Political Science 2302 and
History 1301 received the most participation (Table 3).
Table 3
Classes Previously Taken
Classes Previously Taken
History 1301
History 1302
Political Science 230 l
Political Science 2302
Percentage of subjects
63.7%
56.0%
47.3%
28.6%
21
Of the I7 total subjects that were Non-White, the average number of correctly answered
questions was 8.88 of I2 totaJ questions, a score of 74% with a standard deviation of 1.219. The
I7 Non-Whites averaged 1.82 correctly answered of a total of 3 constant questions, with a
standard deviation of .728. Of the I7 Non-White subjects, 0 scored less than 58.3%, with II
(64.7%) scoring 75% or higher. There were none of the I7 Non-Whites that had a perfect score.
Ofthe 17 Non-White subjects, 35.3% ofthern were African American, 11.8% ofthem were
Asian, and 52.9% of them were Hispanic (Table 4).
Table 4
Number of Correctly Answered Questions: Non-Whites
Questions Correct
7
8
9
IO
I1
Participants
3
3
5
5
1
Percentage
17.6
I7.6
29.4
29.4
5.9
The 17 subjects who were Non-Whites, 11 (64. 7%) answered 2 of the first 3 constant
questions correctly. Of the first 3 constant questions, the 17 Non-White subjects answered an
average of 1.82 of the 3 correctly. Only one of the 17 Non-Whites answered all of the 3
questions incorrectly.
The 17 Non-White subjects reported varied levels of their mothers' completed level of
education. Of the 17 total subjects, 2 reported that their mothers obtained a Master's Degree and
3 reported their mothers obtained a Bachelor's Degree. Of the other 12 mothers, 1 acquired
22
some college credit, 6 completed high school as their highest form of education, and 5 did not
graduate high school. Of the 17 Non-Whlte subjects, 70.6% of their mothers reported completed
level of education was lower than a college degree.
The 17 Non-Whlte subjects reported varied levels of their fathers ' completed level of
education. Of the 17 total subj ects, 3 reported that their fathers obtained a Master's Degree and
2 reported their fathers obtained a Bachelor's Degree. Of the other 12 fathers, 1 acquired an
Associate's degree, 3 acquired some college credit, 5 completed high school as their highest
form of education, and 3 did not graduate high school. Of the 17 Non-White subjects, 70.6% of
their fathers reported completed level of education was lower than a college degree (Table 5).
Table 5
Non-White Mother & Father Educalional Levels
Identifier
Mother
Father
At least a
College Degree
5
5
Percentage
29.4%
29.4%
No College Degree
12
12
Analysis of Open-Ended Questions
Percentage
70.6%
70.6%
Ofthe 91 participants, 19 (20.9%) reported that they would vote for Obama in the 2012
presidential election, whjJe 23 (25.3%) reported they would not vote for a Republican candidate.
On the other hand, 42 respondents (46.2%) reported they would vote for a Republican candidate
23
in the 2012 presidential election, while 63 (69.2%) said they would not vote for Obama. The
numbers do not add up properly, inferring that participants reported that they would not vote for
either candidate, reported they would vote for both, or reported they would vote for one or the
other. Respondents reported that 8. 7% of them were undecided when asked if they would vote
for Obama, while 28.5% of respondents reported they were undecided when asked if they would
vote for a Republican candidate (Table 6).
Table 6
Would you vote for Obama or Republican candidate in 2012 Presidential Election?
Obama
Republican
Yes
19
42
No
63
23
Undecided
8
26
As part of the study, subjects reported their opinions in regards to the 2012 presidential
election, specifically attributing their opinions towards Obama and a possible election of a
Republican candidate. Several trends occurred throughout the responses including several
subjects who all reported that they would not vote for a Republican candidate because they
disagreed with specific policy issues or policy inhiatives. Two specific areas of interest to those
who reported they would not vote for a Republican candidate was due to conservative support or
lack thereof for gay marriage and abortion. Some responses included passionate rhetoric such as
the following, "I would not, (vote for a Republican candidate) because the modem Republican
party consists of radical, fundamentalist hypocrites who presided over an era of financial
irresponsibility, a reckless foreign policy, and a disastrous domestic policy. Fuck the Republican
24
party."39 Others attributed their opposition to the Republican candidates because, "their outdated
Bible-based stance on social issues disgusts me.'"'0 Another subject who vocally opposed
support for any Republican Candidate did so because, "of their lack of support for gay, lesbian,
bisexual citizens, their use of Christianity as moral guidance, and their Jack of support for
women's rights, such as the (free) use of contraceptives and the option of abortion.'"' 1 Those in
opposition to the Republican Party vocalized their disagreement based around social policy
issues.
Another significant trend within respondents of their potential support in 2012 for a
Republican candidate included a variety of support because of their hopes that a Republican
candidate could help with the turmoil 's of the economy. Responses included phrases such as,
"Republican candidates seem to have great plans for getting America back on its feet,"42 as well
as, "I would definitely vote for a republican candidate. They are conservative and know how to
tum this country around and get it back on its feet.'"'3 The average number of correctly answered
questions for all subjects that reported they would vote for a Republican candidate in 2012
because of their hopes in their ability to tum the economy around was 9.06, a passing score.
A common trend often found among those who are uninformed and unexposed to the
workings of government are the reported answers including things such as, "Yes, (I would vote
for a Republican candidate) because that is what my parents are so I am republican."44
Although, not all subj ects who attributed their political support based on their parents support
seemed uninformed. A subject answered whether she would vote for a Republican candidate in
39 Subject response: #6 of Survey 3
40 Subject response: #9 of Survey 3
41 Subject response: # 18 of Survey 7
42 Subject response #4 of Survey 5
43 Subject #33 of Survey 7
44 Subject # I 0 of Survey 7
25
the 2012 Presidential Election with an affirmative "yes" followed by an informative response
that shows how the subject has formulated their own reasoning for their political affiliation and
vote.
"Yes; I grew up Republican. I still believe in small government and corporations acting
in their best interest and thus the best interest of the economy; I hold with some of the
moral values that Republicans have. However, my decision would be based on many of
the same issues raised with the current party, and also their view on immigration. I
believe that many of the Republican candidates ideas on immigration treat immigrants as
less than human. I believe that the immigration process should be eased, in order for the
current undocumented immigrants to become citizens, and then strengthening the border
security designs, as opposed to trying to deport all current undocumented immigrants."45
Several respondents were unsure about their decision and had not formulated a reasoning
behind why they would or why they would not vote for a Republican candidate. One of the
noteworthy trends among the reported responses that were "undecided" was the opinion that they
did not vote according to party lines but voted for an individual candidate based on their
individual policy ideas. One individual subject responded by stating, "l do not know who r
would vote for in 2012 because l do not necessarily vote based on political party, but instead on
the qualities of the candidate.'"'6 Another subject responded by stating, "I don't vote for a
party .. l vote for a politician.'"'7 The average number of correctly answered questions on behalf
of all subjects who responded with undecided answers because their decision is based off of
individual candidate qualities, not parties, was 8.2, just shy of a passing score.
Another significant trend among those who reported that they would not vote for a
Republican Candidate in the 2012 Presidential Election is that they specifically noted they would
not vote for Rick Perry. Three subjects reported answers including Rick Perry, 2 of them
including a "yes" answer towards a Republican candidate, as long as it was not Rick Perry, and I
45 Subject # 16 of Survey 7
46 Subject #23 of Survey 7
47 Subject #25 of Survey 7
26
subject answered "no" because they refused to vote for Rick Perry. The average number of
correctly answered questions on behalf of these 3 subjects was, 9.33, a passing score.
As with those who reported their djsagreement with Republican candidates because of
policy issues, others reported their objection to reelecting Obama in 2012 because of their
differences with some of his policy issues. Subject's responses spanned from an objection to rus
handlings or the Iraqi war, torus financial and fiscal policy, to his reported "failures" in the
White House. It is interesting to notice that the number of questions answered correctly by all
subjects who disagreed with Obama's past policy initiatives and decisions is just shy of I 0
questions (9.72).
A sigruficant trend found among those who reported that they would vote for Obama in
the 2012 Presidential Campaign, was the interest in keeping a Republican out of office. One
subject reported that they would vote for Obama again in 2012 because, "he's not as bad as the
Republicans I've seen."48 Several subjects who reported they would vote for Obama in 2012
because he was a better alternative than a Republican, specifically reported their opposition to
Rick Perry. One subject specifically stated, "I would not vote for Rick Perry."49 Notice how
both Obama responses and Republican responses suggested Rick Perry specifically in their open-ended
replies and no other candidate was mentioned by name.
In comparison to the Republican sentiment towards the economy, several subjects
reported they would not vote for Obama in 2012 because ofrus handling of the current economic
crisis. One subject reported that, "He (Obama) ruined our economy."50 Another subject
vocalized their disposition to Obama's economic plans by stating that, "Obama is a socialist who
41 Subject #9 of Survey 3
49 Subject #29 of Survey 7
50 Subject #6 of Survey 5
27
apparently has no interest in fixing our economy. " 51 Others complruned of his lack of iilltiative
and lack of job creation, as response to their opposition to reelecting him as president in 2012.
Eight subjects reported their opinion of Obama as a Socialist. One individual's response
was very vocal about their disposition towards Obama including reasons why the subject thinks
he is a socialist and their fear of his reelection. When asked if the subject would vote for Obama
in the 2012 Presidential Election the subject responded with,
"No, because Obama has his own agenda that he is trying to push which furthers
American to becoming a socialist country, which is something I won't stand for. We are
a Federal Republic, and it's about time we had a President back in office who remembers
this and does not try (to) grow the government more and allows it to totaJly take control
of the United States. The Government should be there for reference and to keep things in
order- not to rule the people. He also insults American citizens and their intelligence on a
regular basis- as well as other countries, including our allies. Obama does not believe in
God except for when he is trying to win us over by saying "God Bless America." He is
not true blue and he does not seem to care about America the way I would want my
leader to." 52
The four subjects who specifically caJled Obama a Socialist averaged 9.4 correct answers out of
the 12 total questions (78.3%).
Summary and Conclusions
Data for this study included 91 subjects that attended Texas A&M University-Commerce,
a regional state university, who were pursuing an undergraduate degree. Data was acquired from
September 20 It-October 2011 through an online survey portal, SurveyMonkey. The questions
used as part of the study were adapted from the United States Citizenship Test and the scoring
rubric was adapted from their measurements as well. The questions were reworded and asked
51 Subject #2 of Survey 4
52 Subject # 2 of Survey 7
28
randomly as part of a randomly assigned survey, including 3 questions that appeared on each
survey. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 12. 0.
Based on the results of this study, participants attending a regional state university know
more than the researcher expected. Their knowledge of government and civic involvement
measured higher than estimated by the information provided by the founder's feelings towards
their level of awareness and capability to elect the president. Their measured success as
determined in comparison to the United States Citizenship Test exceeds the basic requirements.
The United States Citizenship Test uses similar questions and a similar format for their
measurement of knowledge and participants must score 60% or higher in order to pass and
receive citizenship status; thus, the results from this test indicating an average passing score of
75%. These results, when compared to the requirement of the United States Citizenship Test
show that the participants in this study did comparably well and knew a respectable level of
knowledge regarding the government and its workings.
The purpose of this study was to determine the relevance and necessity of the Electoral
College as a result of the level of knowledge and awareness of the American voters. A
secondary purpose was to determine what demographic factors affected undergraduate students
at a regional state university's level of knowledge and awareness of government and politics.
The selected variables used to measure differences and variances included (1) gender, (2)
ethnicity, (3) mother's educational level, ( 4) father 's educational level, (5) completion of History
1301 or equivalent, (6) completion of History 1302 or equivalent, (7) completion of Political
Science 2301 or equivalent, and (8) completion of Political Science 2302. This study also
studied, despite demographic data, what level of knowledge and awareness those in attendance at
29
a regional state university pursuing an undergraduate degree had as a sample of the American
people.
Due to their specific demographics and backgrounds their levels of knowledge and
awareness varied. Whites overwhelmingly participated in this study, making it difficult to draw
any concrete conclusions regarding race as a factor. There is a bias in the data and it cannot be
applied to the entire American voting population as a whole because of the lack of significant
participation on behalf of minority races. According to the data, white male subjects, whose
parents acquired a high level of completed education, and they had exposure to the preliminary
studies in both History and Political Science performed best within this study.
Although the participants of this study performed beyond the predicted expectations, they
created a difficult measure of awareness due to their open-ended responses. Although it is
measured through their survey scores that on average, they are knowledgeable of basic
governmental structures and functions, it seems that many are unaware of the application of such
knowledge in everyday life. Responses such as, "Obama is a socialist," commented by
participants who passed with 75% or higher cause a complexity in attempting to draw
conclusions about their overall knowledge and awareness. Despite your political alignment or
ideology, it is obvious that Obarna is indeed, not a socialist and his ideology is not reflective of
socialist ideals. Other responses including those who commented that they would not vote for
either candidate indicate that their overall knowledge might not be an accurate representation of
their overall awareness. Even if the participant scored a perfect score on their survey questions
that should not indicate their awareness and ability to see the application of ideologies in
practice.
30
Another obscurity provided by the data is that there was no measurement within the study
that indicated how much influence people received from any other forms of involvement besides
them self. There is no measurement indicating their level of influence on their voting decision
based on any data that lies outside their knowledge of government. However intelligent and
knowledgeable a participant might be regarding governmental functions and workings, their
outside influences and ability to create their own opinions is not measured but should still play a
consideration in the analysis of the data.
The disparity provided by the survey scores and the responses to the open-ended
questions cause friction in the debate regarding the relevance and significance of the Electoral
College. Keeping in mind that this study was executed in order to measure knowledge and
awareness of students, it also gathered first hand insight of people's opinions and feelings
towards the current administration and the potential switch in political party among parties. The
Electoral College is affected by numerous factors and is determined necessary and unnecessary
by different research according to the interpretation of data such as this study. The Electoral
College debate cannot be answered by a simple yes or no, according to the complex data and
conclusions provided within the narrow parameters of this survey.
The findings from this study suggest that the American voter does know a substantial
amount of information regarding government, civics and politics. Thus, the findings propose that
if the primary motivation for the Electoral College was to protect against the lack of knowledge
and awareness of the American people, it is no longer a required mechanism of our electoral
process. Based on the previously discussed literature, the arguments made for and against the
Electoral College and how those arguments can be refuted and supported by the data from this
survey.
31
After analyzing the data is it plausible to propose that the candidate that wins the popular
vote should be considered as the winner because of the respectable level of knowledge that the
American people seem to have. As discussed in Delli Carpini and Keeter's study, it was
suggested that political knowledge and factual understanding be measured in order to determine
the American people's level of knowledge. Within their study, they found similar trends as this
study in that gender and age show substantial differences in the varied levels of knowledge
among their participants. Contrary to Delli Carpini and Keeter's findings, this study found that
the voters have a respectable amount of knowledge regarding politics. Within the parameters of
their study they found that the level of education of their participants to be a significant factor in
determining the varying levels of political knowledge. That is significant in accordance with this
study because this investigation focused on participants who were enrolled at a university
pursuing an undergraduate degree.
Jennifer Jerit, Jason Barabas, and Toby Boisen indicated in their research as well that the
higher the level of formal education the more political knowledge and awareness the people
have. Thus, this survey should permit higher levels of knowledge and awareness than a survey
that includes varying levels of educational attainment because of its focused use of participants
in college.
The findings of this study propose that the use of the Electoral College is not necessary in
today's society according to the argument that it is solely needed in order to preserve and protect
from the lack of knowledge of the American voters. It cannot be ignored that there are several
other reasons for the use of the Electoral College including protection of the two-party system,
and the protection against corruption and its ability to provide stabi lity to a complex mechanism
of government. Without the Electoral College it is probable that these other issues would surface
32
and create even more complications and issues to deal with. It cannot be concluded from the
fmdings ofthjs study whether or not the total abolition of the Electoral College is necessary but
it can be argued that the focus group of participants that were included in this study do know a
respectable amount of information regarding politics and government. When discussing
knowledge and awareness and the contrast between the two, it is evident that the general
population used in this survey have a respectable amount of knowledge regarding government
and politics. However, it is important to note that their Jack of awareness is unmeasured and
therefore unknown. Through discussion and other author's points of view it is noted that those
that are knowledgeable are not always aware and those that are aware are not always
knowledgeable. Because of the disparity and difference between knowledge and awareness it is
difficult to conclude whether the American people are more knowledgeable or more aware, and
which one indicates more precisely the effectiveness and usefulness of the Electoral College.
33
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